The lack of ability to get to the line and his horrific FT shooting are his most annoying shortcomings to me._________________"Chick lived and breathed Lakers basketball…but he was also fair and objective and called every game the way it was played."
-from Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Knew Him

He was hot for a long stretch, then he has a few off shooting games and people jump on him. Kobe had the most beautiful form in the world and he still had plenty of poor shooting nights. It happens. He'll definitely need to be more reliable at the FT line, but he gets so few attempts he's hardly had a chance to adjust. Nothing to freak out about at this point.

most of Kobe's poor shooting came from his shot selection.. he always challenged himself to take challenging shots. If he was as selective as Lonzo was he would have been a 50%+ shooter easily_________________anti-tank.

If Lonzo could improve his finishing(which will happen through strength training and being able to handle contact as he already has control) and his free throw shooting, he could be a 15-17 ppg player even without his jump shot being consistent as of yet._________________How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk

This game exposed Lonzo's flaws in spades as the Lakers had no offensive punch tonite without Kuz, Ingram, Hart & combined with the fact that the Lakers were flat tonite.

All he does is pass and everyone knows it --- talk about 1 dimensional on the offensive side. Unless he can develop some sort of offensive game all of his intangibles are nullified.

I think its pretty much to be expected. First we all know that Lonzo's shot needs work. Second, Lonzo is a rookie. Ingram was pretty terrible as a rookie also and he has improved tremendously. The key is do we see glimpses of Lonzo's potential. I think we do through his court vision, defense and rebounding.

Also isn't shooting one of the easier things to fix amongst pros, relatively speaking. Can't remember off the top of my head, but I think there are quite a few pretty terrible shooters as rookies who became at least decent as their career progressed, including jkidd.

This game exposed Lonzo's flaws in spades as the Lakers had no offensive punch tonite without Kuz, Ingram, Hart & combined with the fact that the Lakers were flat tonite.

All he does is pass and everyone knows it --- talk about 1 dimensional on the offensive side. Unless he can develop some sort of offensive game all of his intangibles are nullified.

I just don't get this point of view. Agreed, he is a terrible shooter/scorer. But he does so much else. He had what 11? 12? assists tonight? Ya he was the problem. Not that we had no one else capable of farting let alone playing ball.

I think Lonzo has shown great flashes and is very promising. But, we should be realistic about some of his stats. As an example, tonight he played almost the whole game and looked to pass the whole time. The 12 assists are not that impressive in this game._________________Llluuukkkeee

If he's like Rubio, he'll never really significantly improve his offensive skillset. If he's like Kidd, he'll improve on his weaknesses enough to be a 15-18 ppg guy in his prime. I'm optimistic he has the work ethic to be more Kidd than Rubio.

We already know he is better than Rubio. His athleticism puts him in a different league from Rubio. Now if he can just be an average shooter he will be better than Kidd. Enough with the Rubio canard.

If Lonzo could improve his finishing(which will happen through strength training and being able to handle contact as he already has control) and his free throw shooting, he could be a 15-17 ppg player even without his jump shot being consistent as of yet.

No, his strength isn't the issue. Watch him closely when he drives, he releases the ball from below the rim the vast majority of the time. He jumps a little early and jumps forward without much explosion up. His shot is prone to getting swatted on drives. It's a super easy fix imo. I have zero doubt his finishing ability will increase dramatically next season._________________Never wanted him anyways! Bron/Kawhi 2019!!! Choo Choo!

I wonder why the idea of Lonzo hitting the rookie wall isn't brought up? Not saying it's definitely the case but could be a possibility. I know he had an extended absence compared to Kuz but I think there's something to be said for the wall being as much mental as physical, and if there's anything this season has shown me it's that Lonzo being 2 years younger than Kuz and 3 younger than Hart makes a difference to his 'readiness' in his first year RE: his offensive struggles._________________0.4

I predict Lonzo is going to shut a lot of his detractors up after finishing up a long NBA season and having a full offseason to work out. He's putting up pretty amazing overall stats with so many weaknesses in his game. He'll start patching them up and boom..._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

It's basically Lonzo running a 100m spring with a parka, construction boots on, and a 40 pound weighted vest and still clocks in at 10.07 seconds.

Once he learns to shed this deadweight and improve on areas of his game, he will hit his stride. I'm encouraged that even though his shot and shot creation is wildly inconsistent, he still assists and boards (we knew that) and plays really good team defense (surprise)._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

3rd game in 4 nights. Could be rookie wall, or could just be a wall from so many games in a short span of time.

I think Randles emergence this year, in what is basically his 3rd year, is going to help me and others with that thing called patience.

Folks expect #2 picks to come in right away and dominate. Newsflash, DLO/BI/Lonzo were 19, and had underdeveloped physical frames. It doesn't always happen that way. But Lonzo's already show plenty of flashes in places we knew about (passing/rebounding) and flashes in other areas we thought would be a major problem (Defense)._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

3rd game in 4 nights. Could be rookie wall, or could just be a wall from so many games in a short span of time.

I think Randles emergence this year, in what is basically his 3rd year, is going to help me and others with that thing called patience.

Folks expect #2 picks to come in right away and dominate. Newsflash, DLO/BI/Lonzo were 19, and had underdeveloped physical frames. It doesn't always happen that way. But Lonzo's already show plenty of flashes in places we knew about (passing/rebounding) and flashes in other areas we thought would be a major problem (Defense).

Even if Lonzo's shot sucks for life, I thinking does it even matter if we just get the right pieces in FA.

Celtics won the championship over us (terrible memories) with freaking Rondo at the point. And we all know Rondo can't shoot to save his life.

I do see where you're coming from, but I'd love if Ball could just work on his touch near the rim. Rondo used to have a killer floater that pulled bigs out. We all want Lonzo to all of a sudden grow a fluid mid-range game, but this one move would do a lot for Ball.

3rd game in 4 nights. Could be rookie wall, or could just be a wall from so many games in a short span of time.

I think Randles emergence this year, in what is basically his 3rd year, is going to help me and others with that thing called patience.

Folks expect #2 picks to come in right away and dominate. Newsflash, DLO/BI/Lonzo were 19, and had underdeveloped physical frames. It doesn't always happen that way. But Lonzo's already show plenty of flashes in places we knew about (passing/rebounding) and flashes in other areas we thought would be a major problem (Defense).

Absolutely. It's one thing to want a rookie to catch up to the speed of the game, but this kid is out there taking the right chances. When's the last time you saw a rookie swipe as much as he does and not contact the player? He also recovers very well and is always using his length right to challenge. We knew we were getting a creative passer but this kid is a wizard on defense.

Last edited by fansincemagic on Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:54 am; edited 2 times in total

3rd game in 4 nights. Could be rookie wall, or could just be a wall from so many games in a short span of time.

I think Randles emergence this year, in what is basically his 3rd year, is going to help me and others with that thing called patience.

Folks expect #2 picks to come in right away and dominate. Newsflash, DLO/BI/Lonzo were 19, and had underdeveloped physical frames. It doesn't always happen that way. But Lonzo's already show plenty of flashes in places we knew about (passing/rebounding) and flashes in other areas we thought would be a major problem (Defense).

I agree. He's shown the flashes we need to see. All that happens, which takes time, is for those flashes to become more and more consistent. And, lest we forget, he is playing the most difficult position to develop from at PG.

Playing a full NBA year probably adds more to your knowledge base than the 5 years prior to that. It's got to be so much, especially with all the Ball family hype (and his brother's troubles).

Look at BI doing work in the summer and coming back strong. Same with Jules. I hope Lonzo hires someone who is not Ball family related to be his full time trainer._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

Not only shooting but shot selection needs to improve as well, I think last night he shot at least two times over KD, when you're not "feeling it" no need to force a 3 pt shot over one of the best defender in the league.

Amazes me how critical some of you are of this young man. He has 11 assts in a game and it is dismissed? Seriously?

A 19 yr old rookie averaging 10/7/7 and playing solid defense is disappointing somehow?

Sure he has flaws. Every player has them especially early in their careers. Give him a couple of seasons of development at least. Obviously he needs to work on his shooting percentage. Can we give him a chance to do so? He has shown improvement. Since the ASB he has improved his 3pt% by 35pts compared to pre ASB.

I find that encouraging that improvement is not just possible but likely in the coming years.

Young man has already shown leadership and the ability to change the pace of the game and arguably the culture of the franchise. He will be an important piece of the puzzle if the unrealistic expectations can be put on hold.

He is never going to be a "scoring" PG. But I envision plenty of triple doubles every season.